Drilling holes in the tang?

[Norse_Nightcrawler]

This is more a modifying than knife making question, but it seemed apropriate to ask here.
The thing is, i have an Ontario Rtak2, wich i really like except it's a little "too" balanced imo. I'd like to remove some material from the tang to make it more front heavy and give it a little more bite when chopping.
My thought was to drill some holes in the tang, but i'm concerned this would weaken it causing it to break under stress.

Am i being completely paranoid, or is "skeletonizing" the tang a bad idea?

Thanks in advance.

Norse

 

[Portman30-06]

Go for it. The only scenario possible would be if you put large amounts of lateral pressure it make bend/break. However proper knife use won't allow for this (plus were talkin lots of pressure here)

 

[Fletch Helical]

I don't think it would be a problem as far as the strength of the knife. Drilling holes in an already hardened blade however might pose a bit of a problem. Hopefully you have carbide bits and a variable speed press or at least drill.

 

[FTO_dude]

I'd be trying everything else before resorting to drilling out the handle of a hardened steel blade.
You'd be looking at a 3/8" minimum carbide drill to even make it worth your while in terms of weight reduction.
No way you'd get the feed or rigidity to do it with a hand drill. And i'd have real trust issues with a drill that big, with a sharpened blade that long and heavy regardless of how well clamped it was.

Dish out the centre on a contact wheel or even an angle grinder, or get someone to give it a full on tapered tang would be safer and easier

 

[Bo T]

I've drilled holes in hardened tangs using masonry bits (carbide tipped) and a drill press. I used a small bit first then widened the hole with a larger bit. It is somewhat dependent upon the type of steel.

 

[ev13wt]

I've drilled holes in hardened tangs using masonry bits (carbide tipped) and a drill press. I used a small bit first then widened the hole with a larger bit. It is somewhat dependent upon the type of steel.

This is the way to do it. Start small and use lubrication, possibly use a machine with coolant.


One thing to remember when drilling is not only clamp down the workpiece hard, also use a second clamp on the work rest just behind the blade so IF the drill grabs it, it cannot spin around on you.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Drill if you want, but be aware that it will only shift the balance a very small amount. You will only be removing a small fraction of the weight of the blade from the tang. What you need is significantly more mass in the blade. Additionally, you will be weakening the tang in an attempt to do harder work with it...not the best scenario.

If you want a different chopping force than was engineered into the Ontario, make a new knife yourself with a wider/thicker blade to give more mass in the forward section.